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Post by Slinger on Jun 29, 2020 13:05:18 GMT
...I've just taken a chance on this: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluesound-Node-N100-HI-RES-Audio-Streamer-/224062013290The answer to the next question is, "because I could." My thinking is that I'm not too bothered if my "phone" can't locate it, as it would hard-wired anyway. Of course, it might be completely buggered, in which case I've just wasted £83.70. I thought it was worth a shot though.
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Post by Tim on Jun 29, 2020 13:27:40 GMT
I've managed to resurrect two Bluesound devices that were to all intents and purposes defunct. A Bluesound Vault (original version) and a Bluesound Node 2.
The firmware had become corrupt and had the same fault as he's described, you couldn't see them on a Network. That's when I discovered there isn't 'one USB drive to rule them all' The Vault was a right pain and I tried to update the firmware a number of times, before thinking 'hang on, I wonder if a different USB stick would work?' A different stick later and bingo, music was flowing. Both went back to my mate and they are still working. He's got 3 now, a Vault, Node 2 and Node 2i.
So good luck fella, I fixed both with a firmware update. The lights were a bit tricky on the version you have, you have to hold buttons down when you reboot them with the USB in until you get the right colour, or at least for The Vault I had to. Instructions are all on the Bluesound website somewhere. Bit annoying getting the firmware too, as you have to give your details and they email you a link. There was a bit of a learning curve, not least navigating the Bluesound support website!
I reckon you'll crack it, my mate was going to throw them away and was really chuffed I got them working again. He gave me a signed John Hyatt LP as a thankyou
I have to say they are good when they are working, the Node 2i sounds really good - I would say the same as the Atom board I'm running with Volumio.
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Post by Slinger on Jun 29, 2020 13:49:25 GMT
That sounds encouraging, Tim. Cheers.
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Post by MartinT on Jun 29, 2020 15:09:10 GMT
Good luck, Paul. Would be very satisfying if you get it working.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 2, 2020 16:57:34 GMT
The N100 arrived this afternoon. After a couple of hiccoughs I reset it to the factory state and then ran a firmware upgrade. So far I've played one of the internet radio stations, Radio Paradise, and it's currently playing John Martyn from Amazon Music.
[edit]
First impressions are that the sound is a bit "muffled." I'm using the optical out into the same DAC that I use for Volumio.
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Post by Tim on Jul 3, 2020 6:48:13 GMT
Yes, those first generation one's don't sound as good as the later one's Slinger. The Node 2 was an improvement and I'd say the Node 2i is very good indeed for the money and for those who don't want to tinker with something like Volumio, it's ideal.
The early ones are IMO about the same as Sonos.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 4, 2020 13:43:29 GMT
Thanks again for the steer on updating the firmware, Tim. It saved me a lot of buggering about looking for the problem myself. As you say, the sound quality is not exactly brilliant. I'm playing Kate Rusby's "Underneath The Stars" album at the moment, and while not actually " bad" it's much more two-dimensional than it should be; and not as " intimate" as I know it to be. The Bluesound can't disguise what an absolutely gorgeous album it is though. I'm back to my favourite word for describing this sort of sound; it's "boxy," i.e. it has the some of the characteristics of a speaker inside a cardboard box. It's not desperately bad, but it's still noticeable. I've given it +4 db treble and +2.5db bass which improves it a tad. Tone controls, eh? Whatever next? I'm also grateful for my sub, which is another positive influence on the overall sound I think. I must admit I did have a little chuckle to myself when I remembered that at one time I'd have been incredibly pleased at getting this SQ out of a cheap-looking white plastic hexahedron. I've ordered an AudioQuest Forest optical lead for it and that's about as much as I want to spend on it. Overall, it was a bargain, and I'm glad I picked it up. It probably won't get used for more than the odd Album on Amazon Music, and playing internet radio stations as " background," just because it's simpler to search and launch them from the N100 than it is going via Volunio. It'll still be Volumio when I want a serious listen to Radio Paradise though. Now I've got to do some serious comparisons between the ATB and the MSI Cubi for Volunio SQ. At the moment I think the Tinker Box is just edging it, in which case the Cubi may eventually become a Kodi (or similar) box. The fun never ends, does it?
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Post by Tim on Jul 5, 2020 9:42:08 GMT
I reckon you've summed it up well, that's exactly how the first Bluesound Vault sounds - 'boxy'. The early Bluesounds I believe had poor power supplies and this was addressed with the Node2 and 2i. The 2i is IMO about where Volumio is with a decent DAC, but with a much slicker and reliable interface, but it should be for 500 quid. The 2i can also be improved by a better DAC, but it sounds very good in my mates system at stock. It was me who got him into streaming and FLAC files, after he poo pooed it at first, now he's fully embraced it and has a Tidal account too. I think for non techie folk, the Node 2i is pretty decent and would satisfy most people. It's way better than Sonos and can index more files too, around 100,000+, although I believe a firmware update on the 2i has increased that further.
I think if you had heard the N100 before Volumio you would, as you say have been pleased. What it does show though is how good the results can be from Volumio, with very little initial cost or effort and with the ability to keep stretching it, if you enjoy tinkering. I'm still really pleased with it.
Bluesound boxes work well as Roon endpoints too, or just as a Spotify player.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 5, 2020 14:27:01 GMT
I completely agree about the Tinker Board / Volumio setup. I know one can't boil everything down to pounds and pennies, but one does have to wonder how much one would need to spend to better it. I'm not talking about a system like Martin's, but one more like my second system which (due to "careful" purchases, and determinedly trolling eBay) probably amounts to around £1,100, not including speakers/cable. That's Amp, DAC, ATB, Schiit Wyrd, Oehlbach XXL Masterclock, and cabling. The amp, a Primare i21, was bought used, the DAC was new, but from China, and is a Topping D70 clone at a much lower price than the D70. The Wyrd was used, the Oehlbach was on offer. The digital cabling is two very short runs of Wireworld Starlight 7 (on offer) and an AudioQuest Carbon (used) and hooking up the DAC to the amp is the superb 50cm AudioQuest Diamond RCA lead I picked up for 10% of what they're commonly selling for on eBay. The amp was already in situ, so theoretically I could lop around £350.00 off of my £1100.00 guesstimate. Sorry, that turned into an advert for my shopping skills. It does go to show how a bit of judicious bargain-hunting coupled with the Tinker Board and Volumio can turn into what I consider to be a pretty good system though.
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Post by TheMooN on Jul 5, 2020 14:34:13 GMT
Nice project to have Paul, hope it works out.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 5, 2020 14:56:02 GMT
Nice project to have Paul, hope it works out. Many thanks. The second system has actually been in place in that format for a while now, and bar any absolutely amazing bargains I " simply cannot resist" will stay that way. I can't actually think of anything I want to change, although there's new (AudioQuest Indigo Blue) speaker cable to drop in when I feel brave enough to start clambering about on a set of folding steps, and I'm going to try swapping out my ES11s for a pair of MA Silver RX2s at the same time. The fun just never stops, does it?
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Post by Slinger on Jul 6, 2020 17:17:34 GMT
I've just dropped the AudioQuest Forest OptiLink cable in, to replace the no-name optical, and it now holds the record for being what's probably the thinnest cable of any sort in any system I've ever used. It certainly increases the bass side of things though, and I've taken the "tone controls" out of the equation completely. It still sounds "boxy," but perhaps not quite so boxy. It'll do for background music.
[EDIT] I've just done a quick comparison between the Bluesound and the ATB/Volumio using the title track from Brothers In Arms. Result: There is no comparison. The ATB leaves it on the starting blocks. Apart from a general leap in SQ there is a huge amount of "intimacy" from the ATB that just wasn't there with the Bluesound.
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Post by Tim on Jul 7, 2020 11:39:31 GMT
It would be interesting if you were ever able to compare all the Bluesound boxes? From 1st to 2nd generation (Node to Node2) was quite a step up, more so with both the hardware and then the firmware. The 1st generation was flaky as f*** and I was always around my mates trying to sort it out! Big step up to Node2, then to 2i was less of step forward, bit like adding an overall polish and ironing out all the bugs. Indexing went up to 200,000 files (in theory) from 100,000. Which was a huge issue for my mate, as he's got in excess of both those numbers! Interesting to hear than the ATB trounces it, but I'm not surprised. I think it would be a closer race with a 2i - especially with a mid range DAC. It's all good and thanks for sharing
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Post by tarzan on Jul 7, 2020 12:07:24 GMT
l have a question?
What is a Streamer?
Glad is working out for you £83.50 is a stone cold bargain.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 7, 2020 12:17:15 GMT
A streamer (or, sometimes, network bridge) runs software that fetches music from an internet provider such as Qobuz or Spotify and sends it in a form suitable for a DAC to convert to analogue music. It also runs the music selection software, allowing you to search for and play music.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 7, 2020 12:33:53 GMT
What he said ^
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Post by Tim on Jul 7, 2020 12:42:15 GMT
Aye indeed. Always used to vex me when folk didn't know the difference between a server and a streamer, but I'm all over that now
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Post by Slinger on Jul 7, 2020 12:44:17 GMT
Aye indeed. Always used to vex me when folk didn't know the difference between a server and a streamer, but I'm all over that now I can tell you're over it by the way you didn't just mention it.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 7, 2020 17:11:33 GMT
Oh, deep joy. I can now control the Bluesound, to some extent anyway, using Alexa. I can, for instance, tell it to start playing Radio Paradise.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 8, 2020 13:52:05 GMT
Final (I hope) comment - I tried, earlier, to accept the ota update that the Node100 was offering me, and it failed, leaving it in the same condition it was in when I bought it. So that would appear to be the fault. It won't process ota updates.
As long as I remember to update via USB stick, which I'm doing now, there should be no more problems.
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